One highly paid third baseman couldn’t bring the Marlins the success they were hoping for. Maybe a second one will.

The New York Yankees are in discussions with Miami to trade Alex Rodriguez to the Marlins, according to Keith Olbermann, with the Yanks taking on most of A-Rod’s remaining salary in the deal. Another option appears to be swapping Rodriguez for Marlins closer Heath Bell, with the Yankees taking on Bell’s contract in exchange for paying less of Rodriguez’s.

None of Olbermann’s sources would comment on how serious the teams have been in their talks, but someone on the Marlins side said a deal “would eventually be made in some form.”

A year removed from splurging on big contracts for Bell, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle as free agents, the Marlins traded third baseman Hanley Ramirez to the Dodgers as they sputtered to last place in the NL East. Now, they could be hoping that a change of scenery could be beneficial for A-Rod, who has been benched more and more by manager Joe Girardi during the Yankees’ postseason run.

Rodriguez has drawn criticism lately for allegedly flirting with two women near the Yankees dugout during the team’s Game 2 loss, and he was not in the lineup for Game 3 against Detroit ace Justin Verlander on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old Rodriguez is owed $114 million over the next five years. A-ROD will not be a Yankee next year. Stop crying about his greatness . This guy is an over rated stiff. EDB